EU to legally restrict social-media algorithms

The European Union has reached a deal to adopt the Digital Services Act (DSA), aimed at increasing the accountability of tech giants in matters of recommendation algorithms and targeted advertising.

Today’s agreement on #DSA is historic.

Our new rules will protect users online, ensure freedom of expression and opportunities for businesses.

What is illegal offline will effectively be illegal online in the EU.

A strong signal for people, business & countries worldwide.

— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) April 23, 2022

The final text of the law has not yet been published, but the European Commission has disclosed its key details.

DSA focuses most on large platforms with at least 45 million users in the EU. This group includes companies such as Meta and Google.

The document bans targeted advertising based on religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity or political affiliation. Companies also cannot display personalized ads to minors.

Online platforms like Facebook will be required to disclose information about how content display systems work to users. They must offer alternative systems, not based on profiling. This means large social networks will revert to chronological content display methods.

Some tech giants will have to share “key” data with vetted researchers and non-governmental organisations so they can assess “the evolution of online risks”.

For non-compliance, the company can be fined up to 6% of its global turnover.

According to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the deal is historic in terms of speed and substance.

«This will ensure that the online environment remains a safe space, guaranteeing freedom of expression and opportunities for digital business», she said.

Google supported the bill and said they were ready to participate in drafting the final text.

“We welcome the DSA’s aims to make the internet safer, more transparent and accountable, and to ensure that European users, creators and companies continue to benefit from an open network,” the company said.

The bill will come into effect 15 months after the vote, but no later than 1 January 2024.

Earlier, the European Parliament approved the initial draft of the law on the prohibition of some types of personalized advertising.

Earlier, in January, China approved rules for regulating recommender algorithms. The changes took effect on 1 March 2021.

In the same month, the United States proposed to ban targeted online advertising.

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